Railway-track



I. A. SANBORN. RAILWAY TRACK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 91,1917.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

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INVENTOR J4. S/INBOEN Arron/m5 v 1 JOHN .AQSANBORN, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-TRACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

Application filed July 9, 1917. Serial No. 179,380.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. SANBORN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Oakland, 'countyof Alameda, and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Railway-Track, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to railway tracks, for use on paved streets or unpaved rightsof-way.

An object of the invention is to provide a railway track which is moredurable than tracks constructed of wooden cross ties. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a railway track which may be repaired or have its wearing parts renewed without materially disturbing the pavement and without disturbing the road bed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railway track which will require a less amount of maintenance expense than the tracks now generally used.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in full that form of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. In the drawings I have shoWn one form of the railway track of my invention and a modification thereof, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such forms, since the invention, as expressed in the claims, may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of track of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of one-half of the track taken through a tie.

Fig. 3 is a similar cross section showing a modified construction.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the tie shown in Fig. 3.

The railway track of my invention includes in its construction, cross ties consisting of end sections or end blocks 2 of concrete or similar material, provided with suitable reinforcing bars 3 and tie wires 4, to provide the block with the necessary strength. The tie consists of two reinforced concrete end blocks or bearing blocks 2 which are connected together by flexible steel bars 5, these bars being embedded at their ends in the concreteblocks and being preferably formed of twisted square bars. These bars are disposed substantially in the middle of the blocks, in the direction of their depth, so that when the tie is placed and the roadbed ballasted, the open center in combination with the narrow flexible steel bars, prevents the ties from becoming center-bound. A center-bound tie allows the tracks to rock laterally, working the ballast loose and necessitating constant tamping to lift the ends and raise the tie from its center pivot.

Thetieswith the concreteend sections and open centers are laid in parallel, suitably spaced apart, and a wooden stringer 6 of any desired length is laid on the blocks at the opposite ends of the tie. The rails 7 are spiked or otherwise secured to the stringer, which is preferably of sufiicient length to extend over a plurality of ties. The stringer not only serves as an element to which the rail is secured, but also furnishes the necessary cushion for absorbing the blows and shocks of traflic. By providing a continuous stringer, the spikes 8 may be driven in at different places along the rail, and when the spikes become loosened, it is not necessar to discard the stringer, as it is with wooden tie-s, since other spikes may be driven in at difierent places. a

I prefer to make the top face of the concrete block flatand allow the stringer to rest on this surface, rather than to form a depression in the block. The stringer is held in place on the tie by metallic members embedded in the end sections and extending above the surface thereof. The inner faces of the metallic members are spaced apart the width of the stringer so that the stringer fits tightly between them. In Fig. 2 the metallic members are formed of short sections 9 of I-beams, inclined inwardly on their outer edges, so that they are narrow at the top. Spikes 12 for holding the stringer in place are driven in under the flanges on the upper ends of the I-beam sections. In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified form of means for anchoring the stringer to the tie. Embedded in the concrete end sections are metallic bars or straps 13 having their lower ends bent so that they are held firmly in the concrete. The straps are provided with holes and the stringer is bored to receive a bolt 14, or spikes, passing through the straps.

This construction saves a large amount of the labor ordinarily required in tamping and in the maintenance of road-bed, since it eliminates center-bound ties. The timber used is above ground. onlreguiarl-roadribeds, so that it is not subject to decay as is the case with buried ties. streets, the stringers may be removed and renewed without tearingup the whole pavement between the rails as is necessary when ties are renewed.

I claim:

1. A railway track composed of a plurality of parallel reinforced concrete ties, a pair of metallic bars embedded in each tie and extending above the surface of the tie, a Wooden stringer arranged on said ties between said bars, holding means engaging said stringers and bars and rails arranged on and secured to said stringers, said bars having the opposed faces thereof which extend above the tie, parallel and engaged When used on paved with the stringer to provide a tight fit therefor.

- A railway track composed of two par- 7 allel serles of spaced reinforced concrete blocks, flexible steel bars embedded in said blocks and connecting a block in one series with the corresponding block in the other series, metallic bars embedded in said blocks and projecting above the surface thereof, a wooden stringer arranged on each series of blocks and overlying a plurality of blocks in the series, means attaching said stringers to said projecting metallic bars and rails extending along and secured to said stringers; In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California, this 22nd day of June, 1917 V JOHN A. SANBOR-N. In presence of H. G. Pnos'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

